A sweepstakes casino is an interesting combination of traditional casino games and sweepstakes promotions. They generally operate as an alternative to real money casinos in areas that may not allow real money gambling. Sweepstakes casinos provide players an opportunity to play their favorite casino games for free, and a chance to win prizes like gift cards or cash.
You might be thinking, how is this legal then? Well, sweepstakes casinos cleverly use sweepstakes laws to allow users to redeem coins for prizes. In this way, players aren’t using real money, but are allowed to redeem playable currency for prizes. These playable currencies are the main difference between sweepstakes casinos and standard online casinos.
The most common type of sweepstakes casino operates with a two-currency system, a free currency such as gold coins, and a sweepstakes-based currency, commonly referred to as sweeps coins. The free currency can be used to play casino games like slots, blackjack, and many others for fun. They cannot be redeemed for prizes.
Sweeps coins function similarly but can be redeemed for prizes. However, there is a catch, sweeps coins cannot be purchased. So how do users get coins?
There are three main methods users can receive coins.
Bundling Sweep Coins With Free Currency: Many social casinos will provide sweeps coins as a bonus offer when you purchase the free coins. As an example, if you purchase 15,000 gold coins for $9.99 you’ll get 100 sweep coins as a free bonus. This is the most common method to get sweeps coins, and how these sites make money.
Daily Drops: These drops typically provide a small amount of currency to players hourly, daily, or weekly.
Direct Sweepstakes Entry: By law, sweepstakes must be free to enter. This means sweepstakes casinos must offer a method to join the sweepstakes without a purchase. For many sites, this means you can write in, normally to a PO box with your information and they will enter you into the sweepstakes by giving you a sweep coin.
Promotions: There are two types of sweepstakes casino promotions that offer bonus sweeps coins. The first is a welcome offer, which typically includes a bonus on signup or on your first coins purchase. The second type of promotion is a user-retention offer. These are typically sent via email and provide free coins as an additional check-in bonus.
For most popular sweepstakes casinos sweep coins have a value near $1, but it can vary. This allows players to take their coins and redeem them for prizes such as cash or gift cards. The catch is, that most of these casinos require you to have a minimum amount of coins to cash out.
For most social casinos, the minimum requirement to redeem your coins for cash ranges from 50 sweeps coins to 100 sweeps coins. The redemption process is straightforward. There is a redeem button in your account, you select your payout method, and wait for the payout to be approved.
This approval process typically takes around 24 hours and you should see the payout in your account within a few days.
In the US, there are only 3 states that outright ban sweepstakes casinos, Nevada, Idaho, and Washington. If you live in any other state there is a good chance you’ll have access to at least a few sweepstakes casinos.
It’s always a good idea to double-check on the website before joining, as availability can vary widely by the operator. As an example, Chumba Casino is available in 45 states while Mega Bonanza casino is only available in 34 states.
While sweepstakes casinos are legal in the majority of U.S. states, there are a handful of markets that are starting to question whether or not they are legal. This includes states like California, where Tribal Casinos control online gambling, and states like New Jersey, where online casino is regulated and limited to approved operators.
As of now, only the three states listed above have outright banned social gaming, but we do expect to see a handful of states to limit sweeps sites in 2025.
Yes, most (if not all) social casinos publish their R2P (return to player). As of Q4 2024, that number remains above 90% as an industry average. Keep in mind that the R2P varies between games, with some games having a return rate of up to 97% and others as low as 82%.
It is worth reading user reviews for any site you are considering signing up with, verifying the R2P as well as the average payout time.
There is no shortage of options in this industry, with dozens of legitimate sweepstakes casinos operating across the U.S. We've tested all of them and have identified our top 3 sites for 2024:
High 5 Casino has broken onto the scene as our favorite sweepstake casino. Offering a wide variety of promotions, games, and prizes, High 5 is an excellent choice for newcomers to sweepstakes casinos. One of the highlights is their generous harvest system that provides players with coins hourly. This helps keep your account flush with coins to play a huge variety of games that even includes live dealer table games.
There are few names larger in the sweepstakes casino industry than Wow Vegas. It’s easy to see why too, with an unmatched number of games and great promotions it’s hard to beat. They offer some of the best technology in the business as well. With a lightning-quick site, they make the experience silky smooth whether you are playing on your computer or phone.
If you are looking for a site with a massive library of slot games and great mobile app, Crown Coins Casino may be your best bet. There are typically around 150 slot games available in the app, but what is great about Crown Coins is that the games that players aren't playing get swapped with new games every month. This keeps the game library fresh. Even better, the mobile app offers a flawless gaming experience and has a 4.8 (out of 5) star rating in the App Store.